Evangelion2020
by Rukaii
Summary: It has been 4 years since "The End". Surprisingly, despite the state of the World that fateful day... things have improved dramatically. The year is 2020. The pilots of the now infamous "Evangelions", Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langely Soryu, are the focus of this story. With alternating perspectives, the story will be told through their eyes. Contains Original Characters.
1. I

**Evangelion2020**

 **I.**

 **Her Story**

"Is that right? ...Yeah... Yeah... I'll be right there...", I said as I ended the video call. It was the MP office. They had called regarding Shinji...again. He had gotten into another fight and as a result was arrested and charged to spend the night in the MP detention center. Ever since...well 4 years ago... he has been like this. Getting into fights at every moments notice was just part of Shinji's nature now... in a way, it's kind of sad. I had always wanted him to grow a spine and show more initiative... but now... in some ways, I miss the old Shinji...

Before I could get too far with my inner thoughts, I heard the shower shut off from across the hall. Moments later, a teenager by the name of Koji Nagata, emerged from the bathroom. Heading my way, Kouta (as I like to call him) smiled, "Good Morning, Asuka," he said as he started preparing breakfast. In a way, he reminded me of how Shinji used to be...this time, I am quick to appreciate this side of people. While I still have my stubborn streak about me... I like to believe that I have learned from my past mistakes of dealing with people.

"Good Morning, Kouta," I said, "Look, I know you said you'd prepare breakfast this morning but there's something I have to go ahead and do... I'm not sure how long it'll take me this time, so..."

Kouta smiled, looking back, "Don't worry about it, it's about Shinji isn't it?" Damn, he's always so perceptive about things I wish he would just leave well enough alone with yet clueless when it comes to common sense situations...sometimes I wonder if he just doesn't act clueless on purpose...

"Yeah... he got in another scuffle. MP's detained him again."

"I understand he's been through a lot, Asuka...we all have... but, still... why can't he realize that he has friends here who are there for him?"

"It's not that simple, Kouta, you know that. What we went through wasn't anything compared to what Shinji had to experience. We were taken out of the game early, it was Shinji who had to experience the "End of the World" scenario alone. We can't even begin to imagine the level of stress that puts on his psyche."

Kouta was quiet for a moment, and then he stopped what he was doing at the counter and turned towards me, "That's not exactly true, Asuka. My mind was shredded and you almost died... We all—" I had moved without thinking. My hand struck the side of Kouta's face almost as if it was pure instinct. "No, Kouta," I said, "It's not the same. He had the weight of the entire existence of the planet on his shoulders and surprisingly managed to still stay sane enough to preserve humanity... what we experienced pale in comparison. Don't forget that..."

Kouta, downcast, rubbed the side of his face slowly where I had struck him. Letting out a small sniffle, he responded, "Yeah... don't worry, I won't..." Those were the words I left him with as I exited my apartment. The apartment in which I lived, along with Kouta, wasn't too sizable yet very accommodating. It was basically a clone of the apartment I shared with Shinji and Misato in Tokyo-3 four years ago. The apartment was located on base here in D.C.2. D.C.2 was a man-made island off the coast of Washington D.C. The island itself was quite the marvel, roughly the size of Okinawa. While it was considered a military base, a full civilian populous made up at least 66% of the islands population. The largest bi-pedal mechanized testing facility in all of the United Continental States of America (UCSA) and one of the largest in the entire world was located right here on D.C.2. This facility is where Shinji, Kouta, and myself work as Test Pilots... if there is one thing our time with NERV taught us, it was that our richest worth to humanity was our ability at piloting the greatest weapon of our time: The Evangelion...

Arriving at the MP detention center, I parked my car in the lot and headed inside. Once inside, I approached the front desk. Much to my dissatisfaction, there was already someone who I knew all too well that had beat me here first... Someone who shouldn't be alive, let alone standing here before me... Her hair wasn't blue anymore nor were her eyes crimson. She shared the same hair and eye color that Shinji did. And to make matters all the more worse, she referred to him as "Brother". It was absurd, Shinji had no sister...well, I suppose in a manner of speaking he could have... but still, they—she died four years ago during "Third Impact"...

"Oh, Asuka! It's good to see you!" She said as she noticed my approach. "It's terrible, they're holding Big Brother in the detention center again!"

"...Well maybe if he would stop getting into fights then perhaps—" The receptionist at the desk was immediately interrupted by the woman standing before me, "Excuse me?! Since when is it a crime to defend oneself? There's no way my big brother would ever start a fight maliciously!"

I could feel the sweat dripping off my brow, was this girl for real? Clearly the Shinji that I deal with on a daily basis and the Shinji she deals with cannot be one in the same if things were as she stated to the receptionist... Shinji has been actively seeking confrontations almost religiously for the past three years... Probably the only reason that he hasn't been court-martial-ed by now is the fact that he is the only one that can pilot the recovered relic: Evangelion Unit 01. Still, that fact doesn't keep them from locking him up every time he gets into fisticuffs with our fellow comrades over the pettiest of circumstances.

"I'm sorry, miss. My friend here hasn't slept well last night and hasn't had her morning cup of coffee either. Please excuse us for a moment," I interjected as I pulled her away from the receptionist desk over towards the main lobby area.

"Just what in the hell is your problem, Rei?"

"Asuka, why are you giving me a hard time? You're acting like I was doing something wrong over there... I was only speaking the truth—"

"If you were speaking the truth, you wouldn't of said that. You and I both know that Shinji has been actively and aggressively starting fights for the better part of the last three years. Don't delude yourself otherwise, it wouldn't be good for your own well being let alone his..."

"Yeah... you're right. I'm sorry, I just get so frustrated whenever I hear them talking crap about my big brother, Shinji..."

I really don't understand how it was this girl came to exist in this world, but right then, the one thing I could clearly understand without any shadow of doubt was that she cared deeply for Shinji and I could respect that much at least.

"Yeah... I get it. But please, can you wait here while I go through the process of getting him released?"

"Sure..."

Surprisingly... I was able to keep my composure. Myself of four years ago would've never been able to do so... Leaving Rei in the lobby, I returned to the receptionist desk, "I'm sorry about that," I said while signing the vistor log book, "I'm here to pick up Shinji Ikari, I trust he hasn't caused too much trouble?"

Of course, I was trying to smooth things over with the receptionist after Rei had given her a bit of a hard time. The receptionist at the desk adjusted her glasses as she looked up at me from her computer screen, "If he wasn't so important to the "Program", he would be locked up in solitary for at least 90 days... that man has a death wish. Do everyone a favor here at D.C.2 and help that young man reconnect with the part of his mind that loves the self. At this rate, he's going to end up killing someone or getting killed himself and at that point there's nothing you, I, nor anyone can do to save him at that moment.."

Well, I suppose it was to be expected that she would be upset. After all, this wasn't the first time Shinji had been arrested for intentionally getting into fights on base here nor was this the first time she had processed him. These meetings between her and I were becoming almost routine. A habit I'm sure the both of us could have benefited greatly from breaking. Taking a deep breath and letting out with a sigh, I replied, "There's not much we can do. He won't let me in... but that's my own fault... I pushed him away when he needed me the most. For now all I can do is my best to try to keep him out of trouble and focused on the importance of carrying out the "Program".

"Yeah... well good luck with that. In any case, he's already been processed. Just head down the east wing of the facility and through the double doors on the end which open up into the atrium. He should be out there, you know, the usual spot."

"Yes, I know. Thank you."

After dealing with her, I noticed Rei had gotten up and started to approach me. This wasn't something I wanted to deal with yet, so I stopped her before she got too close.

"No, let me go get him," I exclaimed, "You just wait right here."

Of course, this wasn't what she wanted to hear. However, she knew that arguing with me wouldn't get her anywhere... So, after crossing her arms in frustration, she sat back down on the seat in the lobby where I left her as I headed down the east wing. Upon reaching the end, I pushed the double doors open at the end of the hall which led out into the atrium. Inside the atrium of the facility, while appearing like it was an outdoor garden, there was a steep glass roof lined with support structures overhead high in the air. As I looked around I noticed many people taking advantage of the outdoor like space. Almost everyone currently in here were former inmates of this detention center who were waiting to be discharged. Shinji was among this group and I was here to collect him. He was sitting a considerable distance away from the majority of the others, against a tree near the far wall. As I approached, he lifted his head up and with a smug grin, his eyes locked on to mine. I could feel my face flush a bit, I'll admit, these last few years have been very kind to Shinji as far as his physical maturation has gone. He's not the same weak, sniveling, coward he used to be. In fact, he's quite handsome and well fit. While we're only test pilots, we have access to all of the military's training facilities. I was very surprised that he wanted to train there once we were accepted into the UCSA to help with the "Program".

"Asuka," he said as he stood up, "You always come here to get me whenever I 'screw up'. Keep this up and I'm going to start thinking we're more than just friends."

Of course, when he opens his mouth I always had completely forgotten how handsome he was. I'm sure at this point the blush on my face was a result of my anger boiling to the surface.

"Excuse me?! You really should appreciate your good fortune, you know! I could have of just as easily of left you in here, but instead I came down here out of the goodness of my heart! I didn't have to do that, ya know!"

Shinji shrugged his shoulders with a slight chuckle that fallowed, "No, of course you didn't. But had you not, the Company would've started to get frustrated that I wasn't back there assisting them with the "Program". You and I both know that Eva 01 is an integral part of it. Furthermore, you came here because you knew you would've had to sooner or later. You just chose sooner, rather than later, and in doing so preventing the Company from breathing down your neck about the lack of progress of the "Program" due to my absence. So don't try to guilt me with the whole 'goodness of my heart' bleeding heart bullshit. Save it for someone who gives a shit," he retorted, his smug look was gone replaced with a cold, emotionless expression. It's in times like this that he really scared me. Not a fear of him, but a fear that he reminded me exactly like his Father, Gendo Ikari, in these moments...

 **His Story**

Seeing the way she looked at me was enough to make me sick to my stomach. She acted like the way she treated me before should be 'water under the bridge'. Asuka and I were together from the moment I was able to halt 3rd Impact. And by 'together', I meant that in the loosest sense one could imagine. I simply tolerated her, she was familiar to me, therefore agreeable. There were only two priorities that mattered to me in what had remained of my life. First, piloting the Evangelion Unit 01 once again. And second, looking after Rei. Rei was my 'sister', or so she claimed. Either way, having her around as opposed to Asuka was quite preferred. Unlike Asuka, Rei didn't appear to have any ulterior agenda when dealing with me. Oh, and if Asuka thought that I couldn't discern the way in which she has been looking at me, she's only fooled herself. I know she must have felt bad for how she treated me... and I was glad she felt that way. She deserved to feel bad, and I intended to continue to make her feel that way. In no way has she redeemed herself for how she treated me four years ago...

"Shinji..."

My train of throught was broken by an annoying sound, it was moments later that I realized it was Asuka's voice...

"...I trust you drove here?" I questioned her immediately to the point. I didn't have time to listen to her feelings or any other stupid banter that might spew from her mouth.

"...Y-yeah, I did... Also, Rei's outside in the lobby. I figured—"

"-that now would be a good time to talk in private and waste your time and mine before she interjected?" I interrupted her before she could finish. She looked somewhat upset that I viewed her presence as an annoyance...but that's simply how it was. I didn't care what she felt. She didn't care how I felt about her back then... now she would know how it felt... however, instead of losing her cool like she always would, she responded how she had usually been responding to me lately... with a soft smile. It sickened me. Seeing her smile at me like that. It made my heart sink. I made me, if only for a moment-a fraction of a second, revert back to the way I used to be. I felt bad for how I was treating Asuka... but then those feelings left me, and I was able to apathetically move past the moment... That was, of course, how it usually went. This time...she said something I never in a million years ever thought she would say...

"I'm sorry..."

And with those words, she turned away from me. I felt a feeling of anxiousness overcome me. She had never apologized to me. Ever. For anything. Why had she suddenly decided to start now?

"...Rei drove here too, so, if you would rather leave here with her... You could just as easily do that... you know, if I'm inconveniencing you so much..."

I wanted to say something to her at that point. I knew I probably should have... but I simply couldn't at that time... I watched her leave the atrium, shortly before Rei entered to collect me from the detention center. Naturally, Rei didn't even once bother to ask what Asuka and I had talked about. She was oblivious to those sort of things... despite seemingly having my best interests at heart... or did she? For the first time since I had awakened after the events of four years ago... ever since the first day I met her... I started to doubt her...

As Rei drove, I began to reflect on the events of the last four years...

 **Authors Note:**

 _Thank you for reading the first pilot chapter of a story that has recently started to formulate in my head. In this story I wanted to continue Evangelion in a manner that could in some ways be interpreted as the spiritual successor to my original story here on – Neon Genesis Evangelion: An Alternate Retelling. While it's not a direct sequel, and certain characters and names have been changed as far as some original characters are concerned, it's the closest thing to a successor to that story as it'll come by. I'm not sure if I'll continue this or not at this time. While I will begin work on the second chapter as this one is uploaded on , I will look forward to reviews/comments and that will be the tipping point to see if I will ultimately continue this through._


	2. II Interlude

**Evangelion2020**

 **II.**

 **~Interlude~**

 **The Story**

After 3rd Impact...

Surprisingly, despite the state of the World that fateful day... things have improved dramatically. The year is 2020. The ShenWu Corporation has risen from the ashes of "Third Impact" to assist in not only restoring Mankind's dominance on Earth, but expanding it's presence in space as well. However, the space expanse isn't the focus of this story... this story is about how the lives of those who played a pivotal part in "Third Impact" have changed as a direct result of that day. These two individuals were once pilots of the now infamous "Evangelions", Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langely Soryu. While the rest of the world had recovered to a degree... the former Nation of Japan had not. Yes, in fact the only two survivors from ground zero of "Third Impact" were... Shinji and Asuka.

In the time since the disaster, the distance between Asuka and Shinji couldn't be any further than it once was. However, now, Asuka was doing her best to not only move on with this second chance with life but also to break through to Shinji, whom has become quite the reminiscence of his Father in these times, and bring him out of the "darkness" from where he wallowed.

In addition to these two souls whom are linked by the threads of fate, there is one more worth mentioning: Rei. Not to be confused with the soul vessels that were created by Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki from the remains of Yui Ikari, this Rei was born from 3rd Impact in the image of Rei Ayanami. Much mystery surrounded her emergence as she was found fully matured of both mind and body. She immediately gravitated towards Shinji, upon her arrival, referring to him as her brother. Despite these familial claims, she possessed no familial genetic link to Shinji Ikari what so ever... In fact, upon further analysis of her DNA it has been determined that... _**************** ERROR ********* CLASSIFIED DATA************ USER UNAUTHORIZED ****************_

 **The Story (Continued...)**

Shinji and Asuka worked as Test pilots for the UCSA Government and, as per their contract, labeled as deceased. So while they were the only two to survive from ground zero, officially, there were no survivors in or around Japan. While many have moved to Japan in the time since, to capitalize on the then, suddenly vacated property... no one living there today lived there 4 years prior...

To give a brief history lesson... There are four major powers in the world at this time: The United Continental States of America, The Soviet Union, The European Union, and The People's Republic of China. The UCSA is comprised of North, Central, and South America. The Soviet Union was revived shortly after "Third Impact" and quickly reclaimed many nations of Eastern Europe and expanded into the Middle East as well. The European Union is comprised of Western Europe and Africa. And lastly, China's borders haven't changed since time immemorial. Despite China having the least amount of land of all these superpowers, it's technology was the most advanced and being the home base of the ShenWu Corporation only helped solidify it's status in the world. As it stands, China and the Soviet Union are allies, locked in a Cold War with the UCSA and the European Union. Well, now that the history lesson is out of the way... we can resume our story...

 _ **Author's Note:** I apologize for the short interlude chapter, I pieced this together using some of the synopsis data that I couldn't fit in the entire short blurb summarizing the concept for Evangelion2020. I am very happy to have already received some very enlightening feedback and critique. In the initial chapter, I switched perspectives within the chapter. I don't really want to make that a habit. Chapter 3 and 4 will be complete stand alone chapters told from either Shinji or Asuka's Point of View. Again, this story is in the very early stages and I apologize for not preparing more but I find my writers brain thrives from feedback so I needed to see what I would get the moment these ideas started to formulate. If you would rather see from Shinji's point of view before Asuka's or vice versa, please let me know in the comments/reviews so I make sure that character's chapter gets labeled as Chapter 3. Thanks for reading/reviewing/commenting and I hope to hear from you all soon!_

 **Rukaii**


	3. III

**Evangelion2020**

 **III.**

I placed my I.D. Badge against the scanner with my right hand while pressing my left hand against the bio-scanner, following up with leaning in to look into the retinal scanner.

"Welcome to ShenWu Labs UCSA-D.C.2., Ikari Shinji." The digitized voice responded once confirming my identity. For those of you who weren't familiar with the ShenWu Corporation, they pretty much controlled the entire re-invigorated new world ever since... well a few years ago. There may be a new Cold War going on amongst the West and the East but any intelligent person would know that the real threat to 'free will' was ShenWu. Using it's highly advanced tech combined with smooth talking bureaucratic assholes, ShenWu has managed to find locations in every corner of the globe. For the time being, so long as the company allowed me to pilot "Her" and test out their new prototypes for the "Program"... I decided to comply and work with them. Asuka seemed to think that there is some good rooted underneath all the bullshit that is ShenWu Corporation... I found that laughable. Nothing good has ever come from an organization rooted in shadows. I wondered if she had forgotten what SEELE had done to us? To NERV... To Father... There were a lot of things I wondered if she had forgotten or simply decided it best to move on about... Asuka had been a source of turmoil for me ever since that fateful day four years ago. She refused me before and lately she thinks that by showing more of an interest in my well being that it can make up for the past. People don't change. That has always been my belief... and I was rarely wrong in that regard...

Traversing the vast corridors of the facility never posed a problem for me, however Rei would always complain to me about getting lost all the time. I really wondered just who her mother was, because from the stories I've heard about my Mother... for her claiming to be my sister there just didn't seem any similarity...and well, as calculating as Father was the notion of imaging him getting 'lost' almost seemed laughable to me. Speaking of Rei...

"Oh thank God you're here!"

Rei was standing at the end of the corridor... lost, as was a reoccurring theme with her. In a way, it reminded me Misato... hmm, Misato... how long has it been since I thought about her? It was a question I wondered as I placed my hand on my chest, where the cross pendant that she once wore now hung from my neck.

"Helloooo, Shinjiiii! Earth to Shinji!"

Ugh... sometimes she was beyond annoying. That moment was indeed no exception...

"...Sorry, Rei," I started to say as I approached her, "I was just lost in thought..."

"What were you thinking about?"

I couldn't exactly tell her I was thinking about Misato. I mean, she never even met her. And considering the over protective nature of Rei... she would of most likely misunderstood the entire situation.

"Oh... it's nothing," I said. Which I didn't consider a lie. A simple omission of the truth wasn't a lie after all. I simply decided to withhold the information that I was thinking about from another person. After all, it had worked so well for my Father. It wouldn't hurt to utilize the same tactic from time to time.

"Boooo..." Rei puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction, clearly she hadn't bought my little omission. Regardless, I had no motivation to enlighten her as to my personal thoughts. Instead, I changed the gears of the conversation.

"Lost again, huh?"

With the expression she wore on her face after I had asked that, you would've thought she had just been punched in the stomach. Well, considering all the times she has gotten lost here in the past few years... you would've thought she would've learned the layout of the facility here by now. Be that as it was, she recovered quite quickly from my questioning jab and answered, "Maybe I just pretend to get lost so that you'll come find me and guide me to where I need to be!"

I simply looked at her for a quick moment, blinked my eyes, opened my mouth to speak but no words could be found to respond to such an idiotic answer... So, I simply walked past her.

"Hey wait for me, Shinji!" I could heard behind me as the pattering footsteps that could be identified as Rei's sounded off as I continued down the corridor towards the Testing Grounds.

The Testing Grounds. This is where we would conduct all sorts of activation testing of new test types and prototypes respectively. The Hangar, which was located to the rear of the Testing Grounds, housed "Her" - my Evangelion Unit 01. In addition to Unit 01, Unit 02 was the only other original Evangelion to be recovered from Ground Zero. The difference between Unit 01 and Unit 02 was the fact that Unit 01 was in the same condition it was back then. Unit 02 was almost totaled from the assault of the 'Eva Series', however, due to the brilliant engineering mind of the Dr. Cid Stoneheart, Evangelion Unit 02 was salvaged and upgraded. Beyond those two units, every other "Evangelion" that we test pilots deal with are vastly different. For starters, these Test and Prototypes aren't "Vessels". Asuka and I refer to them as "Husks" because unlike Unit 01 and 02, there are no 'souls' to individualize them. Naturally, Cid would confound our theory of Evangelions even being able to possess a soul. Cid was a man of science through and through. He wouldn't waste even a millisecond to think using a spiritual mindset. But regardless, despite my distrust of the ShenWu company, I trusted Cid.

"Ah, Shinji my boy, glad you made it on time." Cid's voice sounded out from the loud speakers from the upper deck control room. It seemed he was already ready to conduct the next test. Heh, just like the old man. I wouldn't have it any other way. It's the work here for the "Program" that keeps me sane anyway...

"I was starting to worry you'd still be rotting away in that detention center. I had made the call to Asuka to retrieve you...but it seems you ended up leaving there with Rei instead. Regardless, are you able to conduct an activation test with my newest Evangelion?"

"Of course. I didn't come here for small talk, Cid."

"Right to business, as usual. Boy, that's what I like about you."

While I was quite ready for the next test, as I scanned the room, I was surprised to see that Asuka wasn't present. However, before I could inquire regarding her absence...

"The Company had an impromptu assignment for Asuka. She already left D.C.2 on a private secured flight to Nevada."

"But... she didn't tell me anything about this..."

"Of course she didn't. She was ordered to. Unlike you, that girl knows how to follow orders. However, I must say even I'm a bit concerned. Not even I was privy to the contents of the mission. Whatever it is, the company felt that she would need Eva Unit 02 as well... I must say I'm not very happy about that. I had just had the technicians working tirelessly day and night, for the past month, installing the latest upgrades... Ah well, it's Asuka we're talking about here. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"..." I really had no words. It's not like Asuka owed me an explanation for a sudden departure on mission based grounds... or for anything else for that matter. After all, I've been intentionally keeping her at a distance for these past few years... it would be selfish of me to expect anything from her at this point... but still... it... bothered me. I could feel both my fists clenched and blood trickling through my fingers...

 **Chapter 4 Preview**

 _Nevada, a desert. Ironic that I would be the one to be sent here. As I dealt with Shinji in D.C.2, dealing with him was like dealing with a desert... a reference to his heart. Now, the company seems to think that the 'incident' that occurred at the former Nerv Nevada test site and the recent 'incidents' happening are related. With Eva 02 in the cargo hold of the airliner that I am riding, I can't help but think about Shinji. Should I have told him I was deploying for a sudden mission? It would've been a breach of protocol... my orders were to tell no one. Like a 'good' soldier, I listened to that directive without question... Still... if they wanted me to bring Unit 02... just what dangers await me in Nevada?_


End file.
